Monday, April 27, 2009

i wish i could say that this was made with all fresh veggies, but alas, it was not. i worked with what i had, which was a mix of fresh and canned vegetables. of course, if you have enough fresh produce around, you can just approximate the measurements (1/2 can = 1 cup). this recipe makes 2 ginormous pot pies.

to make the crust, mix flour, salt and butter in mixing bowl. add in water and vegetable oil and continue mixing until everything is well incorporated. i just use my hands for this. form into a ball and let rest while starting the veggie filling.

you can use any veggies you like, but be sure to make about 4-5 cups of mixture if you are using 2 4 cup pyrex containers for cooking. heat veggies in a large sauce pan on medium heat. after about 5 minutes, add in the rest of the filling ingredients except for the cornstarch. simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes with veggies. if the sauce thickens to quickly, add another 1/4 -1/2 cup water. after simmering, add in the cornstarch and mix well for about a minute and then remove from heat. the sauce should be thickening up quite nicely at this point - the end result should be the consistency of a thick gravy sauce.

while the veggies are cooking, divide the dough in half. from each these two sections, you will use about 3/4 of the dough for the lining and the remaining for the top crust. flatten out both the lining and top layer dough with a rolling pin. spray the inside of a 4-cup round pyrex dish and lay the lining dough inside of the dish (all the way up to the top edge). you'll probably have to shift and spread the dough around inside of the dish to make sure it fits nicely. spoon half of your veggie mixture in, and lay the top layer across. with the remaining overage of dough, roll down to create a crust edge (you can press with a fork for decoration). cut slits in the the top for baking and repeat with second dish.

bake at 400°f for 40 minutes, or until dough is browned and veggie sauce is simmering over. let cool for a couple minutes, and then pop pie out of pyrex. :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

today is earth day! a veggie diet is one of the top ways to green up your life and reduce your carbon footprint. one person can make a difference! on earthsave.org, you can read:

+10 people could be fed with the grain used to feed 1 cow+for every pound of beef you do not eat, you save 2,500-5,000 gallons of water+over 280 gallons of oil are used to feed a cow before slaughter+animal agriculture is the number one cause of methane and nitrous gas emissions

white bean hummus:

1 15oz. can white beans (drained & rinsed)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cumin

1 small clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons warm water

sriracha (optional)

wrap:

2 whole wheat wraps

2 cups sprouts

5 baby spinach leaves

1 avocado

5-6 roasted red pepper slices

to make the spicy hummus, put all the hummus ingredients in food processor or magic bullet and blend away. i prefer to add the sriracha last, adding until it meets my spice preference.

spread the hummus on wrap. this hummus recipe makes enough for about 4 wraps, so you can keep the extra refrigerated for a few days. you can buy sprouts, or make your own just as easily - read here for miss v's easy sprouting instructions. place sprouts (here with garbanzo, black-eyed peas and green lentils), avocado slices, spinach and roasted red pepper slices on each wrap. roll up and devour with an earth-friendly conscious. :)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

i love green smoothies, but i'll admit that i don't make them much over the winter. so three cheers for the warmer weather, so i can make lots of green smoothies without being chilled to the bone.

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup blueberries

1½ cups spinach (or any green)

10-15 raw untoasted almonds

1/2 cup water

4 ice cubes

like all my green smoothie recipes, i just toss everything in a blender. pulse a few times to help break up the ice, and then blend for approximately 30-45 seconds until everything is smooth and creamy. you may have to add a little more water to get things mixing.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

my absolute favourite italian restaurant in kansas city is garozzos. unfortunately, it's not so vegan friendly (it became my favourite when i was just ovo-lacto veg). anyways, they have some amazing pasta dishes there, including a linguine pasta in a creamy white wine sauce. every once in a while i have a 'try-to-replicate-it' night, and this was my best attempt. it was really good, although not exact (how do you veganizeprovel cheese?!).

first combine the soymilk and ACV in a jar or something shakeable and let sit - this will cause the soymilk to thicken. start cooking the linguine (according to package), and steam the broccoli.

in a medium sauce pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil on medium heat. once the garlic starts to roast, add the butter. combine the rest of the sauce ingredients - except for the wine - in the same jar as the soymilk. cap the jar, and shake vigorously until everything has been mixed well. pour the mixture in the saucepan, turning heat down to low-medium. let simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce is fairly thick and creamy. add the broccoli florets and cooking wine, simmering for 3-5 minutes more. remove from heat.

personally, i prefer to let the sauce rest for several minutes before serving with the linguine. as the sauce begins to cool off, it will thicken up even more.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

i'm a big fan of the breakfast burrito. it's the perfect hungry girl's solution to a ravenous morning. i like mine a variety of ways, but always overstuffed with my favourite ingredients, warmed up and super tasty.

1 can of potatoes (sliced)

2 cups bell peppers (any color)

1 teaspoon taco seasoning

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

vegan cheese sauce (see recipe below)

salsa

2 large 10" tortillas

for the vegan cheese sauce:

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup soy milk

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon tahini

put the cheese sauce ingredients in a small mason jar and shake vigorously. if you read my recipes, you'll notice that i use the same ingredients for cheese sauces most of the time. in this case, i reduced the amount liquid so that it was thick and wouldn't create a super messy burrito.

in a large non-stick skillet, use only a light coating of cooking spray and then heat the sliced potatoes and bell peppers on high. after about 3 minutes, add the taco seasoning. continue cooking on high for about 5-10 minutes - until the potatoes brown to your liking (extra crispy in my case).

when done, add the potato mixture and rest of the ingredients in burrito. make sure you warm your tortillas first, or you will probably have a hard time folding them without tears.

this make about 2-3 large burritos (depending on how you stuff them). :)

Friday, April 3, 2009

one of the reasons i didn't transition to veganism earlier in life is that i really loved cheese. plus, as an ovo-lacto veg, cheese was one of the bigger staples in my diet. however, in my research of a raw-foods diet, i came across several different nut cheese recipes and gave them a shot. to my delight, most of them were delicious. and i mean delicious in a gourmet-cheese type of way. the almond cheese recipe below is one i came up with from experimenting with several different recipes.

slice zucchini, cucumber and carrots into thin spears. lay on a plate or shallow dish, and marinate them in the braggs, garlic and dulse flakes for several hours. if you don't have bragg's, you could substitute low sodium soy or namashoyu cut with a little water. flip occasionally.

meanwhile, soak the almonds in water at room temperature. after about 5 or 6 hours, drain and blend in a magic bullet or food processor with tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. this will be a thick spreadable cheese, but if you need to thin, just add a teaspoon of water and re-blend. spread cheese on a lettuce leaf and fill with the marinated veggies. add a slice or two of avocado and wrap up.